Artificial leg



(No Model.)

H. HAUSSMANN.

ARTIFIGIAL LEG. No 317,644. Patented May 12, 1885,

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HERMAN HAUSSMANN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ARTIFICIAL LEG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 317,644, dated May 12, 1885. Application filed March 30, 1885. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERMAN HAUSSMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Artificial Legs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to artificial legs provided with a knee-joint formed by hinged or jointed straps, in pairs, attached on opposing sides of the leg and connecting the thigh with the lower leg-section.

The essential object of this invention is to reduce to a minimum the friction and wear between the joints or hinge-connections of these straps, and to destroy any tendency of the joints to rattle or make a noise-common to joints now in common use-and at the same time maintain a uniformly perfect bearing between the j oints, notwithstanding the unavoidable wearing of the bearing in all of this class of joints. Further objects are to have a connection between bearing of a pair of straps that can be made and renewed conveniently and cheaply when the bearings of the straps are worn and without renewing the straps themselves, and to take up the wear in the straps from time to time Without grinding down the straps. I attain these objects by devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of an artificial leg embodying my invention; Fig. 2, an inner side elevation of the upper strap detached; Fig. 3, a longitudinal section ofa pair of straps on a line centrally through the joint or hinge-connection of said straps; Fig. 4, a detached side elevation of the ring constituting a connection between the bearing-surfaces of the opposing straps; Fig. 5, an inner side elevation of the lower strap detached; Fig. 6, a detail perspective of the bushing.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The thigh portion or socket A of the leg is preferably composed of leather or other flexible material, slit down its front and laced together, as shown in Fig. 1, but may be of any other material and constructed in the usual manner.

The lower legsection, B, is of the ordinary constructionusually hollow, for the purpose of reducing its weightaud may have attached any ordinary foot-section. be here shown.)

The leg-sections are connected on each side by a pair of hinged straps in sockets a, the upper strap, O,of which preferably fits in sockets a, formed on the outside of the thigh-section, and the lower strap, D, secured on the inside of the lower leg-section in any desired manner. The opposing faces E F of these straps are circular and provided with shoulders b c at opposite points, so that when united the hinge or joint has the general external appearance of a rule-joint.

The upper strap, 0, is provided centrally with a circular perforation, d, between which and the perimeter is an annular concave bearing-groove, e, which in cross-section is less than a half-circle.

Strap F has centrally a square perforation, f, between the walls of which and the perimeter, like the perforation d, is an annular groove or bearing, 9, similar in every respect to the bearing 6 on the upper strap.

The annular bearings, when the straps are put together, oppose and register each other and form an annular chamber receiving a ring, h, formed of a round and preferably steel wire, but may be of any other suitable mate rial, circular in cross-section, to conform to the grooves, and when in position maintain the opposing faces of the straps from actual contact with each other. In this connection it should be stated that the bearings e f may, without a departure from this invention, be angular in cross-section, in which case the 'ring' should likewise be angular-as, for example, the bearings may be square in cross sections or V-shaped, in which latter case the ring would have approximately knifeedges in contact with the bearings; but in any case the bearings should be annular, so that they may Work freely upon the ring. By this ringconnection of the straps only the grooved portion of their opposing faces is subject to wear, which, owing to the substantial continuity of the ring, is necessarily uniform; hence, when these bearings have worn down until the opposing faces of the straps are in frictional contact with each other, it is only necessary to substitute a ring of greater diameter, but as yet, after months of use, Ihave (Not necessary to not perceived sufficient wear to justify the conclusion that such substitution will ever be necessary, for it is believed that the strapjoint will outwear the rest of the leg, and at no time will ever rattle or creak.

When the straps and ring are in their operative position, a bushing or nut, I, is passed through both straps from the outer side of the upper strap, 0, which nut has a head fitting in a recess, so as to be flush with the plane ofthe side of saidzstrap, and so much of it as bears in the strap G when in its operative position is rounded to-fit the-perforation 0, while the extremity of the nut bearing in the perforation e is square to conform thereto. This nut I is provided with a female screw and locked by means of a headed screw, j, fitted therein from the inner side of the strap '1), as

- shown in Fig. 3, and,whether bearing against the strap or end of the bushing,is rigid therewith and not subject to a friction tending to loosen it in the bushing. This result, however, 'is due to squaring the end of the bush ing and orifice in the leg-section D, so that it is immaterial to such end whether the head of the screw bears simultaneously against the legsection or the bushing, and as a matter of fact the bushing is shortened sufficient for taking up wear in the bearing without the necessity for grinding or iiling'down its end.

emcee Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. In an artificial leg, the hinged or pivoted straps provided with opposing annular bearings, in combination with a ring fitting in said bearings, substantially as described 2. In an artificial leg, the straps of the upper and lower leg-sections, one of which is provided with a central circular perforation, and the other with a similar but squared perforation, a bushing fitting said perforations and "connecting said strap, and means for locking said bushing, in combination with a ring intermediate-the bearings of and maintaining the bearing-faces of said straps from actual contact with each other, substantially as described.

' The straps, the opposing flanges or stops,

the squared and circular perforations, and the annular grooved bearings thereof, in combination with the ring fittingin said bearings, and the bushing and lock-nut, substantially as described.

HERMAN H AUSSMANN Witnesses:

XV. W. ELLIOTT, WILLR. OMOHUNDRO. 

